‘Squid Game' Season 3 Finale and Ending, Explained

Cosmopolitan

29-06-2025

A winner has been crowned and the games have officially come to an end. The Squid Game finale is officially here and it's not pulling any punches as we find out who truly comes out on top at the end of the games. With a heart-pounding final game still going on, it's anyone's guess who it all comes down. But as we've already seen with this show, the Front Man has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. So is he about to pull the biggest twist of all? You're going to definitely want to see how it all wraps up.
Here's the ultimate break down of the season 3 finale of Squid Game.
Yes, the name of the game is Sky Squid Game and there are officially three players left: Lee Myung-gi (Player 333), Seong Gi-hun (Player 456), and Kim Jun-hee and Myung-gi's baby who is now playing under Player 222.
Gi-hun is still trying to protect the baby for dear life, but Myung-gi is only thinking about his own survival at the end of this. After clearing the requirements for the next round, they are about to move to the final round when they start to fight as one of them must die in order for the games to end or else they all end up dead.
While Gi-hun prepares to move onto the square pillar, Myung-gi stops him with the giant pole and tells him to give him the baby instead and stay in the triangle tower. In his crazed state, Myung-gi believes that there is a deeper reason for Gi-hun's protection over the baby, but Gi-hun tells him that it is because he promised Jun-hee that he'd protect her.
Knowing that there is no reasoning with Myung-gi, Gi-hun sets the baby down on the bridge, backs up to retrieve the knife, and jumps toward the square pillar before it's too late. He ends up in a fight with Myung-gi, who eventually threatens to throw the baby off the ledge. Myung-gi tells him to drop the knife, which Gi-hun agrees to in order to protect the baby, but they soon start fighting again, leading them both off the ledge of the tower.
At the same time as all of this is happening, the VIPs are enjoying the show, but the Front Man AKA Hwang In-ho gets a notice from one of the Pink Guards that something has gone awry.
Kang No-eul, the Pink Guard who helps Park Gyeong-seok (Player 246) to escape, discovers her file which states that her daughter is actually deceased. Upset by the reveal, she points the gun to herself as she watches the final game unfold on the screen. Meanwhile, Hwang Jun-ho, who found Gyeon-seok on a boat, swims over to find out the island now that he officially knows where it is.
Gi-hun, holding both himself and Myung-gi from the ledge, attempts to try to pull both of them up. However, the jacket that Myung-gi is holding onto breaks apart and he falls to his death. Gi-hun is then able to pull himself back onto the ledge of the tower, but soon realizes that the button in the center wasn't pressed meaning the round never started and Myung-gi's death does not count.
As the coast guard arrives to Gyeong-seok's location, the Pink Guard warns In-ho that they are close to finding out the truth as Jun-ho arrives on the island and Gi-hun presses the button to officially start the final round.
Gi-hun, realizing what must happen in order for the baby to survive, places the baby in the middle of pillar before stepping out closer to the ledge. With his back turned to where the VIPs and the Front Man are watching he says, "We are not horses. We are humans. And humans are..." before he falls back and officially eliminates himself from the game.
Player 222 is declared as the winner and the game has officially ended. Knowing that the Coast Guard is officially close to discovering the island, the Front Man immediately starts to evacuate the everyone. No-eul, seeing everything unfold, decides to not go through with her plan and escapes using her supervisor's mask. Despite seeing bombs that are counting down, Jun-ho still goes inside to try to confront In-ho sees him come up to the final pillar to get the baby.
Jun-ho asks him why he did it all, but In-ho turns his back and proceeds to escape. As all the Pink Guards and workers escape, we see Gi-hun one last time as his eyes show the explosion happening on the island, burning down all the evidence that the Squid Games ever existed.
As the Coast Guard approaches Jun-ho who has swam out of the island, a mysterious man is seen breaking into the hotel where Gi-hun was staying at and discovers the cash he left behind.
Shockingly, no! The episode then jumps ahead six months and gives us an update on how everyone else is doing.
Back at the amusement park where she used to work, No-eul sits for a caricature of herself done by none other than Gyeong-seok. He notes that she looks familiar and she reminds him that she used to work there. All of his sudden, his daughter appears and No-eul says she's glad to see that she's okay. No-eul offers her a lollipop before leaving the amusement park. As she leaves, she receives a call from Park Man-cheol from South Men, North Women who had been tracking down her daughter. He says that she was sighted in China, but cannot 100 percent confirm it is her yet, shocking No-eul.
At Moojin Penitentiary, Choi Woo-seok is finally let go after being arrested for breaking into Captain Park's home. He reveals to Jun-ho and the guy who didn't protect him when he got arrested that he plans to renovate the hotel that Gi-hun left behind and turn it into a proper business. When Jun-ho returns to his apartment, he discovers Player 222 along with a debit card filled with the prize winnings.
At the airport, Cheo, Sae-byeok (Player 67 from season 1)'s brother, reunites with his mother thanks to the help of Man-cheol. Meanwhilek, No-eul is seen boarding a plane for China in the hopes of finding her daughter.
We soon find ourselves in California, where a man steps out of a vehicle and rings the doorbell. A young girl opens the door to discover that In-ho is there. He has a box with the circle, triangle, square on top and says that he has come on behalf of Gi-hun to give her something. She tells him that she is upset and does not want what is in the box as he has disappeared from her life and has been ignoring her. In-ho tells her that he is actually dead, which prompts her to accept the box. She opens it up to discover Gi-hun's jumpsuit from the games along with a debit card. As she tries to catch up with him to ask him something, the car drives away.
While out and about in Los Angeles, In-ho's car stops in front of an alleyway where he sees a man playing ddakji with a blonde female recruiter. The camera pans to show that it's actually none other than Cate Blanchett (yes, we know!!!) as she stares at In-ho before his car eventually drives away.
Yep, and that is how the show officially ends! The ending is actually a hint at the upcoming American version of the series that is currently being developed by David Fincher. However, whether Cate Blanchett is actually involved or when it's happening still remains to be seen. Still, it seems like Squid Game is not really dead and we might be in for another wild ride!